Automatic wagon-brake.



J. R. HARRIS & L. M. JENNINGS.

AUTOMATIC WAGON BRAKE. APPLICATION IILED SEPT. 10, 1913.

Patented May 12, 1914'.

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COLUMBIA PLANOORAPH J. R. HARRIS & L. M. JENNINGS. AUTOMATIC WAGON BRAKE. APPLICATION 21mm SBPT.10, 1913.

1 ,096,365. Patented May 12, 1914.

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JOSEPH R. HARRIS,

0F FOSTERS FALLS, AND LUTHER 1V[. JENNINGS, OF STAR,

VIRGINIA.

AUTOMATIC WAGON-BRAKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 12, 1914.

Application filed September 10, 1913. Serial No. 789,140.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, J osnrn It. HAnRIs and LUTHER M. JnNNINos, citizens of the United States, residing at Fosters Falls and Star, respectively, in the counties of VVythe and Carroll, respectively, and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic VVagon-Brakes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in wagon brakes, and has particular reference to that type of such devices which are designed to automatically move into operative position simultaneously with the rearward movement of the tongue of the wagon, as in the case of the draft animals backing on the tongue when the wagon is oing down a grade.

s one of its principal objects, the present invention aims to simplify and improve the construction of devices of the character above set forth, so that they may be more cheaply manufactured, will be durable and eflicient in service, and may be readily applied to any wagon of the standard construction.

A further object is to provide a stop device so that the brake may be thrown out of operative relation with the tongue, thus enabling the operator to prevent the braking of the wagon at any time.

An additional object is to equip the brake with a manual control, whereby the operator may, if an emergency should arise, apply the brake by hand in case the stop device which operates to negative the connection between the tongue and brake has been applied.

An object of equal importance with the foregoing is to form the sliding connection between the rear end of the tongue and the fore hounds of the wagon in such manner that frictional engagement will be reduced to a minimum.

A still further object is to equip the brake with a retractive spring which is so arranged as regards its relation to the brake mechanism that it will automatically operate to apply the brake should the wagon by reason of some unforeseen contingency move forward without the knowledge of the driver, after the wagon has been brought to a stop.

A yet further object is to connect the spring referred to above in such manner that its tendency to apply the brake will be normally overcome when the draft animals are pulling the wagon in the usual manner.

The above and additional objects are accomplished by such means as are illust 'ated in the accompanying drawings, described in the following specification and then more particularly pointed out in the claims which are appended hereto and form a part of this application.

\Vith reference to the drawings, wherein we have illustrated the preferred embodiment of our invention as it is reduced to practice, and throughout the several views of which similar reference numerals designate corresponding parts, Figure 1 is a side elevation illustrating the brake in assembled position on the running gear of an ord nary farm wagon; Fig. 2 is a top plan view; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section taken through the rear terminal of the tongue and the housing which incascs the fore hounds of the wagon; Fig. 4: is a detail perspective view illustrating the preferred form of T- shaped bracket employed in connecting the brake rod to the wagon tongue; Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view illustrating the metallic casing which is disposed to incase the rear terminal of the wagon tongue; Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view illustrating the preferred form of housing employed in connection with the forward terminals of the fore hounds of the wagon; Fig. 7 is a detail perspective view of the brake rock shaft in olssembled position; and Fig. 8 is a perspective view illustrating in detail a modified form of connecting fork wh ch may be employed in attaching the brake rod to the actuating lever.

Before taking up the description of the drawings, it is desirable to emphasize the fact that while this invention has been designed with particular reference to the needs of farm wagons, has been illustrated, and will be hereinafter described in that connection, it may, nevertheless, be employed with equal ctliciency with any other type of wagon or truck in which it is desirable to employ a brake adapted to automaticallr move into operative position sin1ultaneously with the rearward movement of the tongue of the wagon.

Proceeding now to the description of the drawings, the numeral designates the brake beam which is mounted transversely of the wagon and is disposed beneaththe reach pole, indicated at 11. This brake beam in the preferred embodiment of the in vention consists essentially in an elongated beam or bar, the terminals of which carry brake shoes,as at 12. In mounting the brake beam for swinging movement, whereby it may be automatically actuated by a mechanism to be hereinafter described, this inven tion employs a hanger rod 13 which is preferably constructed of a metallic rod, the terminals of which are bent at right angles to the main body portion, as at 1-1 and 15 to produce depending arms carrying hooks which are insertible in U-bolts 16 carried by the upper face of the beam 10. The main body portion of the hanger rod 13 is mounted on the upper face of a cross bar 17 carried by the hind hounds 18 and 19 adjacent their forward terminals. lJ-bolts 20 are applied in the usual manner for holding the hanger rod 13 against displacement from the cross bar 17. 7

From the foregoing description, and upon reference to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings particularly, it will. be readily observed that the brake beam 10 is mounted. for swinging movement, so that the brake shoes 12 may be moved into or out of operative engagement with. the rear wheels, indicated conventionally at 21.

The brake beam 10 is, as previously set forth, adapted to be automatically moved into operative position upon the rearward movement of the draft tongue, indicated at 22. As a means, therefore, for automatically connecting the brake beam to the draft tongue 22, this invention employs a rockshaft 23, a connecting rod 2 1, an operating lever 25, and a T-shaped attaching arm 26, which latter member is employed in connecting the upper terminal of the lever to the rear terminal of the draft tongue 22 which is slidably mounted in a housing 27 carried by the forward terminals of the fore hounds 28 and 29.

The rock-shaft 23, which is the first of the elements above named, is formed in the nature of a metallic rod or shaft 30, one terminal of which is journaled in a bearing plate 31 carried by the hind hound 19. A second bearing plate 32 similar to the member 31 is carried by the hind hound l8 and supports the rock-shaft at a point ap proximately midway between the longitudinal center of the shaft and its extended terminal indicated at 33. In this connection, it

is to be noted that the terminal 33 of the shaft 30 extends to a point slightly beyond the standard 34.- carried by the rear bolster 35. The purpose of extending the shaft 30 in this manner will be hereinafter more fully described in connection with the description of the manually operated brake lever.

In the preferred embodiment of this invention, spacing blocks, indicated at 36, are interposed between the bearings 31 and 32 and the adjacent faces of the hind hounds 18 and 19, so that attaching brackets 37 and 38 may be disposed with their upper terminals below the upper faces of the hind hounds l8 and 19, thereby eliminating any danger of contact with tl e bottom boards of the wagon body; These bracket arms'37 and 38 are similar in construction, and as best illustrated in Fig. 7 include collar members 39 and upstanding arms 10 which are apertured at their upper terminals, as at 11. The collars 39 are welded or otherwise secured on the rock-shaft 30. The bracket arms 37 and 38 are so arranged that they are in approximate vertical position when the brake shoes 12 are disengaged from the wheels and are adapted to swing rearwardly to move the brake shoes into engagement with the wheels, being connected for this purpose to the brake beam by means of link rods 12 and 4 3. The forward terminals of these members 4:2 and. 13 are provided witheyes 1 1- which engage U-bolts carried by the rear edges of the brake beam, as will be readily observed upon reference to either of Figs. 1 and 2. The rock-shaft 30 is further provided with a downwardly extending bracket arm, which is indicated at 46, and is substantially identical in construction to the arms 37 and 38, being arranged, however, to extend downwardly and rearwardly from the shaft 30 when the brake beam is in inoperative position. 7

From the foregoing, it will be obvious that the forward swinging movement of the bracket arm 46 will operate to swing the bracket arms 37 and 38 rearwardly, resultantly moving the brake shoes 12 into engagement with the wheels through the action of the connecting links or rods 42 and 13. As ,a means, therefore, for auto1natically swinging the bracket arm 16 forwardly simultaneously with the required movement of the tongue 22, this invention employs the connecting rod 2 1, actuating lever 25, and T-iron 26, as above set forth.

The connecting rod 2 1 is, in the preferred embodiment, constructed of a pair of metallic rods 4:7 and 48, the forward and rear terminals of which are respectively pivoted, as at 49 and 50 to the lower terminals of the actrmting lever 25 and bracket arm 416. The adjacent terminals of the rods 47 and 18 are screw-threaded to receive a turn-buckle 51,

the function of which is to permit the lineal adjustment of the brake actuating lever 25, so that the brake may be quickly applied and adjusted to wagons of various lengths, and also adjusted to correspond with the adjustment of the reach pole in the well known manner.

The actuating lever 25 is pivoted intermediate its length on a stub shaft 52, the terminals of which are journaled in bearing plates 53 bolted or otherwise secured, as at 54;, to the intermediate portions of the fore hounds 9S and 20, as will be readily observed upon reference to either Figs. 1 or 2. The upper terminal. oi this actuating lever 25 is pivoted on a pin between a pair of spaced apertured cars 56 and 57 formed. on the rear end of the head portion 58 ot the T-shaped attaching iron, heretofore desig nated as an entirety by the numeral 20. .teference is to be had in this connection particularly to Figs. El and t in which this feature of the invention is best illustrated.

The vertical arm 58 of the T-iron 26 is "termed integrally with a butt plate 59 which. is apertured adjacent each terminal, as at (it), so that screws or other fastening devices may be inserted :ior securing the plate to the rear end of the tongue Relative to the tongue 22, it will be observed upon reference to Fig. 5 particularly, that the rear end of the tongue is incased in a metal lic jacket 61, and is formed with a longitudinally directed slot (32 which is in vertical alinement with similar slots 62:3 and ti l; formed in the upper and lower walls of the jacket 61. The slots (52, (53 and (i l, as will be readily observed upon reference to F 5, are designed to register, when the jacket is applied to the tongue, and are adapted to receive the vertical arm 58 of the T-iron 26. When the T-iron 26 is thus applied, the plate 59 bears against the end of the tongue 22 and is held thereagainst by bolts or similar fastening devices, as previously set forth.

The metallic jacket (51 of the tongue 22 is mounted for sliding movement in a boxing or housing, which is indicated at (35, and is carried by the forward terminals oi the lore hounds 28 and 29. This casing (55 consists in the preferred embodiment of a metallic asing 66 which, as best illustrated in Fig. (3 includes a top plate 67 and a pair of side plates 68 and (it).

In assembling the brake, the casing (36 is applied to the fore hounds 28 and 29, so that the top plate 67 will rest upon the upper faces of the bounds, and the side plates (38 and 69 will engage against the opposite or outside faces of the hounds. This feature of the invention is best illustrated in F 2, and reference is, therefore, had to that ligure particularly. A bottom :lace plate 70 is secured to the under-"faces of the hounds 2S and 29 and is held in assembled position by means of bolts 71, which are preferably tour in number, and are inserted through apertures 72 formed in the tour corners of the top plate (37 and are directed through the hounds 28 and 29. The tongue, when in assembled position, is arranged for sliding movement through the chamber defined by the inner faces of the hounds 29. and 29 and the top and bottom l'ace plates (37 and 70.

As a means tor attaching the double tree to the rear terminal ot the tongue, there has been provided a bolt 73. This bolt 7?), as best illustrated in Fig. 23, passes through the tongue, being vertically arranged, and extends upwardly through the jacket (ll to a point considerably above the upper taco ol': the plate (37. The lower terminal oi? the bolt Ti-l passes through an opening l'ormed in the jacket (31 and is held against displacement by a nut 7-1- which is threaded on, the bolt in the usual manner. The plate (37 ot the casing (it), and the plate 70 are provided with vertically alined .hmgitudinally extending, ccntrz'illy disposed slots, which a re individually indicated at T5 and 76, and are adapted to permit the extended terminals oi. the bolt 71) to slide through the housing (36. The upper terminal ol the bolt Til is projected through a central aperture formed in the double tree 77 and is then passed through the apcrtured car 78 lormed on tho itorward terminal of the head porlion 58 of the T-iron 2(3. The bolt is, oi? course. headed, as at T5), to prevent its displacement. lt will be observed upon retorcnce to l igs. 3 and l particularly, that the forward portion of the head 58 oil the T-iron 2G is curved downwardly, so that the ear 78 will lie in a plane below the pivot point As a. means for limiting the sliding movement of the rear terminal oi. the tongue through the housing or boxing (36, there has been n'ovided a stop pin, which as indicated at 80, extends transversely between the forward terminals of the hounds 2S and 29 and mounted in a longitudinally ex tending slot 81 formed in the tongue 2; and side walls of the metallic jacket (it.

From the foregoing, it will be obvious that when the draft animals back. the tongue will be moved rearwardly through the housing (36, and that the T-iron 20 being tired in its relation to the terminal of the tongue will be moved ctnrrespomliugly. Resultantly the actuating lever 25 will be swung on its pivot to bring its lower terminal forwardly, consequently, swinging the bracket arm l;(i :l'orwardly through the medium of the connecting rod 24:. The brakes are thus automatically applied to the wheels whenever the draft animals pull back on the tongue.

It has been found in practice that it is often desirable to eliminate the automatic phase of this brake, so that when occasion requires, the brakes may be held against moven'ient into operative position through the agency of the wagon tongue. its a means for accomplishing this result, the present invention employs a stop bolt 82 which is adapted for insertion through a vertical bore formed in the tongue 22 and jacket 61, as indicated at 83 in Fig. 5. Upon reference to Fig. 3, it will be obvious that when the bolt has been applied to the tongue 22, the rearward movement of the tongue through the housing 66 will be prevented by reason of the engagement of the bolt with the forward edges of the plates 67 and 70.

It has been found in many instances that it is desirable to have some automatic means for moving the brakes into operative position independently of the draft animals or driver of the wagon. Such a contingency might arise when the wagon is left standing on an incline after having been checked. In the event that the check is accidentally displaced, it is obvious that the wagon will start forwardly, and if the horses have moved up in their harness, with a resultant slack in the fore-chains of the harness, it is apparent that the wagon will run down on them with the probable result of frightening the horses. In order to effect the automatic application. of the brakes indepencb ent of the driver or the draft animals, and to guard against the contingency above stated, there has been provided a helical spring, which is of the retractive type, and is indicated at 8%. The forward terminal of this spring is equipped with a hook 85, and is attached to a clcvis 86, the apertured terminals of which are mounted for swinging movement on the pivot pin The rear terminal of the spring may be attached to the front axle of the wagon or to any other adjacent supporting element. This spring normally tends to hold the brake shoes in engagement with the wheels by reason of the rearward pull exerted upon the upper terminal of the actuating lever The tendency of this spring to hold the brakes into operative position is overcome, however, as soon as the draft animals start forwardly, since the movement of the tongue into extreme forward position in the casing or housing 66 will operate to swing the upper terminal of the actuating lever 25 into such position that the brake shoes will be disengaged from the wheels throug g'h the medium of the connecting rod bracket arm 46 and rock shaft 30, in the manner previously described.

if so desired, the forward portion of the head of the T-iron 26 may be formed as a seaarate element and pivotally connected to the l iron.

In order to permit the driver of the ve" hicle to manually operate the brake, there has been provided a manually controlled lever, which is indicated at 87, and is preferably pivoted to the side of the wagon body, being connected to the rock shaft 30 by a brake rod 88 and a link lever 89. The member 89 extends upwardly from the terminal 33 of the shaft 30 and is pivoted as at 90 to the rear terminal of the brake rod 88. A separate clutch plate 91 of conventional type is provided for the lever 87, so that this member may be held in the desired adjust-ed position.

In reduction to practice, we have found that the form of our invention, illustrated in the drawings and referred to in the above description, as the preferred embodiment, is the most efficient and practical; yet realizing that the conditions concurrent with the adoption of the device will necessarily vary, we desire to emphasize the fact that various minor changes in details of construction, proportion and arrangement of parts may .76 resorted to, when required, without sacrificing any of the advantages of our invention, as defined in the appended claims.

As illustrated in Fig. 8, this invent-ion comprehends a modification of the members 4-7 and 48, which constitute the brake rod 24. Upon reference to this figure, it will be noted that a yoke or fork, consisting of a pair of spaced a ms 92 and 93, is formed on the terminals of the member 24. These arms are formed with a plurality of apertures, as indicated at 94-, so that a bolt or pivot pin may be inserted throu h the arms 92 and 93 to secure the terminal of the actuating lever 25 t-herebetween.

In conclusion, it may be well to direct at tention to the fact that the peculiar arrangement of the actuating lever 25 and member 26 produces an unusually severe application of the brake shoes when the wagon is moving down hill. Relative to this point, it will, of course, be observed that when the horses back upon the tongue, the forward terminal of the tongue will swing upwardly in the well known manner with the result that the fore-hounds 28 and 29 are swung in a corresponding direction. Obviously, the upward swinging movement of the forward terminals of the bounds 98 and 9.9 will swing the lower terminal of the actuating lever 25 forwardly so that the brake rod 24 will be drawn ahead to effect an unusually severe application of the brake.

Wl at we claim is:

1. The combination in a wagon, of a brake, an operating lever pivoted intermediate its length between the fore-hounds of the wagon, a rod connecting the lever and the brake, a spring attached to the lever for normally holding the brake in operative position, a draft tongue having its rear terminal mounted for sliding movement between Crt the torehounds of the wagon, a plate attached to the end of the tongue, a T-iron formed on the plate and having its lower terminal embedded in the tongue, said T-iron connecting the said lever to the rear terminal of the tongue, whereby the lever will be swung to urge the brake into operative position simultaneously and auton'iatially with the rearward movement oi? the tongue, and means for limiting the sliding movement oi? the tongue.

2. The combination in a wagon, ot a brake, an actuating lever pivoted between the fore-hounds of the wagon and operati rely connectei'l to the brake, a dralft tongue having its rear terminal slidably mounted upon the 'tore'hounds o'l' the wagon, a housing incasing the forward terminals oi the tore-hoiu'ids and receiving the rear terminal of the tongue, a transverse stop pin carried by the tongue and having its terminals mounted "for sliding movement within the longitudinally extending slots formed in the forward terminals oi. the :t'ore-hounds and side walls of the housing, and a T-iron ha ving its vertical portions secured to the rear terminal of the tongue and the iorwa rd and rear terminals oil? its head respectively connected to the tongue and actuating lever.

3. The COI'tlllllldtlUIl in a wagon, ot? a brake, a draft tongue slidably mounted between the forward terminals of the forehounds of the wagon, a metallic jacket tor the rear tern'iinal portion of the tongue, a metallic housing incasing the forward terminals of the :t'ore-hounds and forming a chamber wherein the jacketed portion of the tongue is slidably mounted, a stop pin carried by the tongue and slidable through slots formed in the fore-hounds and side walls ot the housing, for limiting the movement oi the tongue, a bolt extending vertically through the tongue and having its terminals mounted for sliding movement through lon gitudinal slots formed in the upper and lower walls of the housing, a T-iron having its vertical portion secured to the rear end Of the tongue and the forward terminal of the horizontal arm secured to the said vertically arranged bolt, and an actuating lever pivotally connected at its upper terminal to the rear ends of the horizontal arm of the T-iron and operatively connected to the brake for communicating the movement of the tongue to the brake, whereby the brake is automatically moved out of or into operative position simultaneously with the respective forward and rearward movements of the tongue.

t. The combination in a wagon, ot a brake, an actuating lever pivoted between the fore-hounds of the wagon and operatively connected to the brake, a draft tongue mounted for sliding movement between the fore-hounds of the wagon, a housing incasing the forward terminals of the forehounds and tt'orming a chamber adapted to receive the tongue, a metallic jacket for the rear terniinal portion oil the tongue, a buttplate secured to the rear end of the tongue and forming a closure for the open end of the said jacket, a vertical ln'acket arm formed on the inner face of the butt-plate and seated in a vertical slot formed in the rear end of the tongue and jaclmt, and a lmrizontally arranged arm formed on the upper terminal ol. the said vertically arranged bracket, the forward terminal oi the horizontal arm being connected to the tongue and the rear terminal of the arm being pivotally connected to the actuating lever.

The combination with a wagon, of a brake, a draft tongue mounted for sliding movement between the fore-hounds of the wagon, a metallic housing incasing the forehounds and forming a, chamber receiving the tongue, a metallic jacket tor the roar terminal oi the tongue, the side walls of said housing ham-"ing longitiulimilly extending registering slots, the rear terminal of the tongue being provided with a transverse elongated slot located to aline with the slots of the housing side walls, a stop member passing through the slots of the side walls and through the slot of the tongue tor limiting the sliding movement thereol, and means operatively connecting the rear terminal of the tongue to the brake, whereby the brake may be autonnitically and sinmltaneously moved out oil. or into operative position upon the respective forward and rearward movements of the tongue.

6. The combination with a wagon, of" a brake, a tongue mounted for sliding move ment between the tore-hounds oi the wagon, a metallic housing incasing the tore-hounds and consisting oi a U-shaped plate member cl'nbracing the top and sides of the hounds, and a bottom plate engaging against the lower faces of the hounds, said housing forming a chamber receiving the rear terminal of the tongue, the top and bottom walls of the housing having longitudinally extending registering slots, and the side walls of the housing having longitudimilly extending registering slots, a metallic jacket for the rear terminal oi the tongue, there being a horizontal longitudinally extending slot formed in the tongue, a bolt member passing through the slots of the housing side walls and through the slot of the tongue for limiting the sliding movement of the tongue, a vertically extending bolt member passing through the rear terminal of the tongue and mounted for sliding movement through the registering slots oi? the top and bottom walls of the housing, a plate secured to the rear terminal of the tongue, at T- shaped iron formed thereon and having the forward terminal of its head portion aperturecl to receive the upper terminal of the In testimony whereof we affix our signasaicl vertical bolt member, and means operatures in presence of two witnesses.

tively connecting the rear terminal of the w A T-iron head to the brake, whereby the brake is automatically moved out of or into operative position simultaneously with the respeo- Witnesses:

tive forward and rearward movement of the E. D. VVORRELL,

tongue. JEZEBEL GOAD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

